


Mad Prince Rulf: Academy Entrance Exams

by sglottalk



Series: Crown Prince Rulf [1]
Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Academy, Exams, Gen, Mother and Son, Post-Canon, Recreational Drugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 16:44:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6058600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sglottalk/pseuds/sglottalk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laisa discusses with her eldest son his performance on the Barrayaran Imperial Military Service Academy entrance exams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mad Prince Rulf: Academy Entrance Exams

"Rulf, if you did not want to go to the Imperial Military Service Academy, you could have just told us," said Laisa Toscane Vorbarra. "I would have supported you. Your father would have supported you too. You did not need to do this." 

"Do what?" Crown Prince Rulf asked with fake innocence.

"Flunk the exams on purpose."

"Who says it was on purpose? It's very competitive. I didn't even take any drugs during the entire week of exams!"

"In the written exam, you filled your answers with the silliest nonsense."

Rulf wondered whether his mother used the word 'silliest' rather than 'most obscene' because she had not read the answers herself, or because she wanted to avoid discussing just exactly what he had written on his test papers. "I was so bored out of my mind during the written exam, I had to do something to keep myself awake. Especially since I couldn't get high."

"Rulf, this is a pattern. We know you are a very intelligent young man, but you ... it is very frustrating for us, your parents. We want you to reach your full potential. We really do."

"What kind of potential?" Rulf asked. "I know how to make myself laugh, I know which euphoria drugs make me feel good without wrecking my health, I know how to have fun with my body, I know how to wring amusement from the antics of the High Vor, and I get to eat mouth-watering food every day. I think I'm maximizing my potential for pleasure pretty well, and that's the kind of potential I care about."

"Rulf, you are your father's official heir! And even if you were not, you could be so much more than what you are right now. You could find a ... higher kind of happiness."

Rulf recognized it was time to shift the conversation. "Okay, okay. I don't want to go to the Academy, but I wanted to apply anyway because I was really curious about how well I would do on the physical and oral exams."

Laisa looked at her eldest son, trying to measure just how sincere he was. "You did seem to put an honest effort into those parts of the exams," she conceded.

"Mama, do you think I could get an exact breakdown of how I scored on everything, even the written exams?"

"The Academy does not release that, only whether candidates are in or out."

Rulf rolled his eyes. "I am pretty sure the Empress of the Barrayaran Imperium could get an exact breakdown of my scores."

Laisa paused before she said "We do want to encourage you to take your education more seriously. Very well, I will see what I can do."

Rulf grinned. "Thanks, mama!"

After his parents various ill-fated attempts to get him to quit using recreational drugs through therapy and, later, cutting him off from his suppliers, they eventually came to the compromise that Rulf could keep his drug habits as long as he kept himself in overall good health and funded them on his own - not using any money from the Imperial Household. He secretly felt that coming up with creative ways to make money was so much fun that this was no compromise at all. Once he got the most detailed possible description of how well - and badly - he performed on the exams, he intended to sell it to a tabloid magazine. Cash, however, was not his biggest motivation. He hoped that everyone's reactions to his exam results would be very entertaining.


End file.
